Tainan , officially Tainan City , [I] is a city in southern Taiwan. The city proper is a special municipality facing the Formosan Strait or Taiwan Strait in the west and south. Tainan is the oldest city on the island of Taiwan and also commonly known as the "Capital City" [II] for its over years of history as the capital of Taiwan under Koxinga and later Qing rule. Tainan's complex history of comebacks, redefinitions and renewals inspired its popular nickname "the Phoenix City".
After Dutch colonists were defeated by Koxinga in , Tainan remained as the capital of the Tungning Kingdom until and afterwards the capital of Taiwan Prefecture under Qing Dynasty rule until , when the new provincial capital was moved to Taipei. Tainan has been historically regarded as one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, and its former name, Tayouan, has been claimed to be the origin of the name "Taiwan". It is also one of Taiwan's cultural capitals, for its rich folk cultures including the famous local street food and traditional cuisine , extensively preserved Taoist rites and other living local traditions covering everything from child birth to funerals.
The city houses the first Confucian schoolβtemple in Taiwan, built in , [8] the remains of the Eastern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments. Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan. Archaeological excavations in Zuojhen District suggest that the Tainan region has been inhabited for at least 20, to 31, years.
The indigenous Siraya tribe dominated the region by the 16th century. The Sakam people of the Sinkan sub-tribe inhabited the area of the present-day city. Salt and food was exchanged for deer hides and dried deer meat. The Siraya people were influenced by both Chinese and Japanese cultures and lifestyles. By the time the Europeans arrived, the influence of Chinese and Japanese traders and fishermen was already prominent. Early Dutch colonists had attempted but failed to control Macau and the Penghu islands.
In July , the Dutch East India Company textile merchant Cornelis Reyersz sailed to Taiwan in search of a suitable location to build a trading post. In he established a small fort named 'Orange' on the sandy peninsula they called Tayouan modern-day Anping.
